


Mockingjays

by navaan



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Childhood, Gen, Gen Fic, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-05
Updated: 2012-01-05
Packaged: 2017-10-29 00:01:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/313605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a child Peeta thinks, it's a good idea to sneak away to the Seam...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mockingjays

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the fandom stocking of Tinylegacies.
> 
> Thank you to my wonderful beta rosehiptea!

Peeta knew running away would get him in trouble. A lot of things in this world could get you into trouble, as his mother warned him at every turn. But he had wanted to see for himself what was outside the merchants' district.

His brothers had told him stories about the dirty men coming from the coal mines, of the fence that encircled the District all around. Aaren had been in trouble for sneaking down to the fence with his friends from school only weeks before. Father hadn’t said anything about it, but mother had been very upset. Later Aaren had told him about the dangers they had faced, how he was glad that they were living up here with the other merchants. He didn’t elaborate, but something must have scared him more than seeing the way the people were living down there.

So Peeta, the youngest of the family, had waited for the first opportunity to sneak away on his own and find out for himself.

It hadn’t been a good idea, of course. The unfamiliar faces around him, all tanned and framed by dark hair, had turned to stare at him, curious. He hadn’t found the fence his brother had told him about at all, but now found himself lost amid the small houses, that were more like little huts.

The constant walking had made him hungry, but turning around to make his way back home he found that all the houses looked the same to him. He had no idea where he’d come from or how to get back. An old woman spotted him standing in front of her house. She looked at him in surprise: “Aren’t you the baker’s boy?” Her voice was gruff and harsh. Panicked, feeling like he was trespassing, he took off and ran.

It was clear now that he had no idea where he was going, but he didn’t care. He knew he was in trouble, and the best way to avoid unpleasant consequences was to make yourself unseen. When he reached a meadow with high, withered grass, he ducked down. He made himself small and waited, holding his breath until he was sure nobody was following him.

He wanted to be home. Why had he not listened? Tears were stinging his eyes. He’d never felt this lost before.

What was he supposed to do now?

Would someone come down here to look for him?

Would he have to stay here?

By the time the first tunes of a song were drifting over the meadow, Peeta was crying silently. The voice startled him enough to make him afraid again, but then the voice and song didn’t sound threatening at all. Careful not to be spotted, he peeked out of his hiding place. A man was walking along the tree line only a few meters away, singing to himself. Peeta knew the song. He’d heard it before somewhere. Had his mother sung it to him when he was smaller? Had she ever sung to him?

He couldn’t remember.

The man stopped, starring up at a tree, smiling. “Come on, little guy. Sing,” he said in a friendly voice. “We both know that you want to.”

He sang a few notes and suddenly another voice picked up the tune and stopped again. Tears all but forgotten, Peeta craned his neck to get a better look. A mockingjay was sitting on a branch watching the singer with interest.

The man picked up his song once more, the bird just watched and listened. When the male voice stopped, the bird picked up the tune, than another bird joined in, and another, until the trees resonated with song. Peeta had never seen anything like it, and without noticing what he was doing, he had slipped closer to get a better look. He shouldn’t have done that, he realized to [too] late, because now the man was staring right at him.

“Hello there.”

“Hello,” Peeta answered meekly, not sure if he shouldn’t just turn and run again.

“Are you playing hide and seek?”

He pondered that question for a moment. After all he was hiding, wasn’t he? But he didn’t feel as if he were playing. So reluctantly, he shook his head at the question.

“You’re alone?” the man asked again and for a moment Peeta felt like running. The man didn’t seem threatening though. Not knowing what would be the safest answer, he decided to shrug his shoulders and not say anything. The man nodded with a worried expression and looked around. “You came all the way down from town on your own? You’re parents must be asking themselves where you got off to.”

Peeta nodded again, afraid to directly look at the stranger.

“It’s quite a way back to the bakery.” Peeta breath caught in his throat. He was surprised that this man knew about his home, but tried not to show it. Even he knew that their shop was important, and that all the district people seemed to know about it one way or another. The man looked over his shoulder, back at the way he’d come, a calculating look in his eyes. “It’s probably better if I take you back. You’ll only get lost and you wouldn’t want to be stuck here in the dark.”

“No!”

“Of course not,” the man said with a smile and extended his hand towards Peeta. “Then come along.”

With a relieved sigh he took the offered hand and let himself be led back to the path. Although he was still nervous and anxious to get home, he felt safer now. “That was a nice song,” he said, just to say anything at all. And it was true. It had been a nice song. He’d never heard someone sing like that before.

“My daughter wants me to sing it to her every night,” the man explained with a chuckle. “She must be your age. You’ll probably go to school together in a few years.”

“What were those birds? Were they mockingjays?”

The man smiled. “Yeah. Never heard them sing like that? They are all over the place. Can’t go anywhere without finding a mockingjay these days.”

“I like them.”

“I do, too.” They shared a conspiratorial smile, and Peeta felt like they were having a very important conversation. “Why do you like them?”

“Hmm,” the man cocked his head to the side and thought for a moment. “That is an interesting question. Why do _you_ like them?”

“Because I like their song. They make me happy.” Wasn’t that obvious?

The man nodded. “That’s true, although some people might disagree,” he laughed, like Peeta often did when he remembered something funny. “I think I like them because they show us humans that even if you’re abandoned you can be happy. Along as you learn to adapt and work together with others. That's important.” Peeta furrowed his brow and tried to understand how birds could make someone think all that. “You’ll learn about this soon enough - what it means. And if you’re lucky you’ll learn to be a mockingjay one day.”

“Me?” he asked confused.

“All of us.”

***

They had nearly arrived at his home, when he saw his father walking towards them down the street. He looked worried and didn’t seem to see them right away. But Peeta's companion called out to him and his father rushed over quickly. Peeta was glad that it was his father finding him first, and not his mother. His father did seem a bit flustered, but not angry at all. His mother would have been angry.

“Where have you been all day?” he shouted when he stood before them.

“He got lost watching mockingjays.”

Peeta looked up at his friendly new acquaintance and then up at his father.

“Thank you for getting him back home, Everdeen.” His father looked at the man, noticeably uncomfortable. “Thank you,” he said again and nodded.

The man - Mr. Everdeen - nodded back. “No trouble at all. I better get back to my family now. They'll be worried, too.” They nodded at each other again, and Mr. Everdeen turned to make his way back. Peeta was sad to see him go. He’d have liked to ask him some more questions about the birds and the song...

“Never run away again, Peeta. You hear me? You’re mother will give you a good shouting for it...”

Peeta scrunched up his nose and then smiled tentatively. He was so happy to be home that not even a shouting could make him regret being back. Curious, he turned to watch Mr. Everdeen vanish down the street. “Do you know him?”

“That’s a story for another day. You’re in enough trouble as it is.”

The walking and running had made him tired and hungry that he didn’t want to question further now. With a nod he followed his father back into the bakery and just hoped that his mother was tired too, and wouldn’t be angry at him for long.


End file.
